The present invention relates to an apparatus for cleaning a flow of particulate-laden gas. More particularly, the present invention relates to a gas cleaning apparatus that utilizes electrostatic forces for the removal of particulate from a flow of particulate-laden gas.
There is a need for compact, lightweight, and efficient gas cleaning apparatus for cleaning a flow of gas laden with fine particulate which can be utilized in applications, such as mobile vehicles. The dangers of contaminants and pollutants in our atmosphere are well known and publicized. Significant contributors to this pollution are the mobile vehicles used for commuting, shipping, farming, mining, construction, etc. Gas cleaning apparatus are needed which will not affect the efficiency of these vehicles and yet clean up the pollutants and contaminants in the air.
Electrostatic gas cleaning apparatus have long been used for filtering out submicron particulate in gases. Examples of these devices are U.S. Pat. No. 3,853,750, which reveals an electrostatic separator utilizing parallel plates for collecting charged particulate and U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,458,040 and 3,458,041, which reveal devices utilizing electrodes to charge particles of light material and thereby aid in their removal. U.S. Pat. No. 2,866,546 reveals a combined electrostatic and magnetic separator. However, none of the above references reveals an electrostatic gas cleaning apparatus as taught by the present invention. In addition, the above references share many of the disadvantages frequently encountered with electrostatic gas cleaning apparatus.
Electrostatic gas cleaning apparatus, in order to achieve the results or efficiency desired, sometimes have to be relatively large and therefore take up much space, space which is often not available in certain applications. Often electrostatic gas cleaning apparatus have unreasonable energy demands in the form of large electrical requirements. Electrostatic gas cleaning apparatus frequently include complex cumbersome mechanisms to remove contaminants from waste collection surface areas in order to maintain efficient operation. In addition, many of the electrostatic gas cleaners are subject to electrical shorts when exposed to any gas containing electrically conductive material such as a diesel soot.
Another major consideration other than space, energy, etc., is the maintenance requirement of various gas cleaning devices. A mobile gas cleaning apparatus must be capable of efficient operation for long periods of time without maintenance and have a long mean time between failures. One of the ways to accomplish this is to build an apparatus with few mechanical parts which are not subject to wear or misadjustment.
A gas cleaning apparatus meeting the above requirements would have significant application for mobile vehicles and elsewhere. The present invention solves these problems and many others.